Walking San Francisco [Paperback]

Liz Gans (Author), Rick Newby (Author)

Book Description

Series: Walking Guides | Publication Date: August 1, 1999

San Francisco is a mythical city, fabled for it urbanity, its handsome setting, and its charming and distinctive neighborhoods. Mild in climate and quirky in character, it boasts myriad attractions and opportunities. For the walker, the city offers breathtaking vistas, a stunning diversity of culture and cuisine, and a vast network of city parks, including the largest urban national park in the world: Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This compact guidebook will lead you to the best the city has to offer. Stroll along vibrant Fisherman's Wharf or follow a tranquil forest trail in the Presidio. Explore the rich culture of Chinatown or stride along the Pacific coast at Lands End. Here are step-by-step directions and detailed maps for 18 excursions, as well as firsthand descriptions of points of interest along the way. If you're visiting San Francisco, or exploring your own hometown, you can be sure you're on the right track with Walking San Francisco to g! uide you.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

With its stunning natural setting, San Francisco is one of the most congenial American cities for those who love to walk. This vividly written guide features 18 great strolls, including 9 in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the world's largest urban national park. From Fisherman's Wharf to Chinatown, Golden Gate Park to the Cliff House, the Presidio to the Marin Headlands, cover the City by the Bay on foot, with Walking San Francisco in hand.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Falcon; 1st edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560447060
• ISBN-13: 978-1560447061
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #515,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book - the best of its kind on the market, February 7, 2001

By 

Leigh Munro - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking San Francisco (Paperback)

I love this book. I have done about 7 of the walks so far and they have all been brilliant. I am going to do them all before I leave San Fran in a couple of months time. The guides take you to all the most famous locales and sites with many good suggestions for shops and cafes along the way.

But what I love best is that the book is small enough to slip into your pocket. I frequently leave my apartment" with no other guidebook but this one. I really, really recommend it to anyone who wants to get off the beaten track - it is so much more fun to see a city that way.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars get out those walking shoes, June 12, 2000

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walking San Francisco (Paperback)

Of all the guide books I have consulted, this San Francisco compilation of walking tours is the most diverse and complete. Not only are familiar and less familiar parts of the city covered, but also how to reach starting points by pubic transportation (vital for pedestrians), time required, degree of difficulty, and special points to note. It's a great introduction to this fair city.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Navigate the Forest -- Forgive the Occasional Missing Tree, January 16, 2006

By 

Cortland Kirkeby (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walking San Francisco (Paperback)

I used to live in the Bay Area from 1980 to 1992 and, after a 13 year hiatus in Nebraska, moved back only in September. Living in the East Bay, my knowledge of The City was always fragmented -- oriented around things like landmarks, workplaces and friends' residences.

This time around, I was determined to learn San Francisco "like the back of my hand."

Liz Ganz and her book have helped me realize this goal.

Writing a guide book is like recommending a restaurant. No sooner do you open your mouth but the chef left town, the menu changed and the back end of the building caved in -- and it's all your fault because your best friend's marriage proposal hinged on everything being perfect.

So let's not allow our allegiance to Elizabeth G to be tarnished by pesky details not easy to anticipate six years earlier.

Thus far, my wife and I have pursued several of the walks. We will not only complete all of them but will repeat them as often as it takes to commit them to memory and then experiment with our own tangents.

No, San Francisco does NOT necessarily LEND itself to walking. The hills are all seriously steep and not recommended for the faint of heart or those who lack the motivation to exercise. The weather is frequently cool, cloudy and, for part of the year, very rainy.

Nevertheless, walking in San Francisco is very addictive. You'll find your work week lasts for months at a time until the next precious weekend walking opportunity. Even the rain and wind will not deter you.

Walking San Francisco's walks will enable you to explore the city in manageable chunks, avoiding both physical overload and information overload. It's important while exploring each area to leave room for sitting with a cup of coffee, wandering in and out of stores and chatting with some of the cool neighbors out with their dogs and rugrats.

Because 1999 was a long time ago, some of the resource information will be dated, but in the internet age, those details can be updated in fairly short order.

One extra tip: As you plan your meals, don't overlook the major supermarkets that crop up along the way. For example, when you visit Ocean Beach, walk a block or two up Fulton Street, grab some choice items from the Safeway deli department and treat yourself to a picnic at a fraction of the cost -- and wait time -- of a meal at the nearby Cliff House.

Thank you Elizabeth G. Your book is still a treasure as well as a treasure map.